Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.  2004 Feb;8(1):21-25.

Economical Sweating Function in Africans: Quantitative Sudomotor Axon Reflex Test

• Lee JB
• Bae JS
• Choi JH
• Ham JH
• Min YK
• Yang HM
• Kazuhiro S
• Matsumoto

Abstract

People in tropics have the ability to tolerate heat by residential permanence in the tropics. Previously, we have shown that African and Thai subjects who lived for whole their lives in only their respective countries sweat less under hot conditions than South Koreans who also lived whole their lives in Korea. The difference in sweating responses was attributed to the dissimilar central and peripheral sweating mechanisms operating in people from both groups. In the present study, acetylcholine (ACh), the primary transmitter for the sudomotor functions, was iontophoretically administered to South Koreans and Africans to determine the characteristic sudorific responses of their acclimatized biologic make-up to their respective environments. Using quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART), direct (DIR) and axon reflex (AXR) responses were evaluated. The findings revealed that the sweat onset-time among South Koreans was 0.91 min earlier than among Africans (P< 0.01). The axon reflex sweat volume of nicotine receptor activity AXR (1) and sweat volume of muscarinic receptor activity DIR (2) among South Koreans were 79% and 53% greater (P< 0.01), respectively. These results indicate that the reduced thermal sweating among Africans is at least in part attributed to the diminished sensitivity of sweat glands to ACh.

Keyword

Acclimatization; Tropical natives; Direct response; Axon reflex; Sweat onset time; Sweat Volume; QSART

MeSH Terms

Acclimatization
Acetylcholine
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Axons*
Hot Temperature
Humans
Korea
Nicotine
Receptors, Muscarinic
Reflex*
Sweat Glands
Sweat*
Sweating*
Acetylcholine
Nicotine
Receptors, Muscarinic